I love music but I cant seem to push myself to play guitar enough. How do I inspire myself?

Question

Music is so fascinating to me and I have never seen or heard anything like it. There is no other way to make something like music other then playing an instrument or singing. Yet I cant bring myself to practice enough as I should. It's mostly playing scales and learning theory that gets me, everything else is so fun to play. How can I make learning theory fun?

Answer 1

1. practice at a regular time. first thing in the morning is a good time, before work and other distractions pop up.

2. chart your progress. play with a metronome and mark on a calendar how fast you can cleanly play scales etc. record yourself and listen to it periodically. when you can see and hear the results of practice, you'll be encouraged to stick to it. also when you listen to recordings of yourself, you'll hear mistakes and weaknesses that are easy to ignore when you're 'in the moment.' or you might even impress yourself. when you play with a metronome, time seems to slow down, but when you play back the recording, you'll realize you were flying!

3. play with people who are better than you. it's easy to think you're pretty good when you're alone. playing with other people will give you an idea of where your skill level really is. when i jam with people who are awesome, i'm humbled, and i want to practice to reach their level. but any audience is better than no audience. fear of embarassment and the desire to impress people is a powerful motivator to practice.

4. buy new stuff. having a new guitar, or even just putting new strings on an old one makes me want to play more. if you don't have the cash, offer to swap gear with a friend for a couple weeks. just having a different sound and a different feel can make things less boring.

5. find its use. it's hard for me to memorize strange chords or scales unless there's a song i want to play that uses those theories. remember that people invented music without rules and theory. theory was invented later just to explain things.

Answer 2

I wish that you would have said what style of guitar you play....I play classical guitar....and finger style. I don't think anyone thinks that the theory and scale parts of learning music is fun but it's all necessary to be a good musician.....why not limit your self to the time that you play scales or study theory....and study something different.....if you don't play finger style why not give that a try.....I find that very enjoyable....and most times your working with scales you just don't realize it, and your fingers and muscles are getting the necessary workout that you need on a daily basis to be a good guitarist....give it a try....are you just playing chords right now ? At one time I did that and got very bored after a short time....so play things like, Yesterday, Tears in Heaven and Canon finger style...there a lot of fun to play and your finger get a good work out....both left and right !!!!!!!!!

Answer 3

I would use theory/scales as a warm-up. Something that is maybe 5 minutes of your time. Then move on to the other stuff.

Eventually if you keep on making practice time, you will remember little by little and it won't seem so tedious.

I know when I bought my classical guitar, I would find a spot in a park or somewhere alone by myself, and I would peacefully play through my guitar book.

I also played timing games with myself and time how fast I could go through all my scales.

Answer 4

Well, you could just do what it is you are doing now. Enjoy it, and always only look for the fun side. You could also realise (and grow up a little) that the hard work of theory is as necessary as the fun of playing pieces you like. Mastery of an instrument requires discipline, stop whining about it and learn the discipline.

Answer 5

Unless you are learning Classical guitar, why are you bothering about scales and theory? I've bgeen playing for 45 yeas and have never felt the need to do them. I can play chords to accompnay myself/others singing. I can play lead guitar, riffs and tunes. I can play fingerstyle, and different plectrum rhythms and I'm happy. OK I've picked up enough over the years to play some scales, but I play mainly by ear. Enjoy yourself! Go for it!. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

My favorite learn to play books are "Progressive Guitar Method". The series starts with teaching to read music one note at a time and moves to chords and more. The Mel Bay books are very good, too. I haven't seen any others that impress me. Both of these come with CDs and DVDs to play along with. If your Dad sees that you are serious, I bet he will find time to help you. Good luck and have fun. Maybe someday we can jam together.

Answer 7

It has to be something that you really want. Try switching it up, do your scales, then play something fun... Then switch up again. Make the fun things a reward for doing the not so fun.